ABU DHABI: Aldar Properties said on Wednesday it would start building a $40 billion island off the coast of Abu Dhabi next year to host a leisure complex including a Ferrari theme park.
Abu Dhabi, which has more than 90 per cent of the oil reserves of the United Arab Emirates, is keen to wean its economy off energy exports and attract foreign capital to emulate the success of neighbouring Dubai, the Gulf’s trade and tourism hub.
Dubai, which has more than 6 million visitors a year, is building three palm-frond shaped islands and an archipelago resembling the map of the world along its coast.
The Abu Dhabi island, known as Yas, will be completed in 2014, Aldar Chairman Ahmed Ali Sayegh told a news conference.
Abu Dhabi government-owned Mubadala Development Co has a 5 per cent stake in Ferrari, the sports car maker which is majority-owned by Fiat.
Aldar shares were trading more than 2 per cent down on Wednesday on the Abu Dhabi stock market, which is hovering above two-year lows.
Aldar, the third-largest Gulf Arab real-estate developer by market value, said in October it planned to borrow as much as $4 billion to fund projects. At the time the company was developing 70 billion dirhams ($19.06 billion) worth of projects in Abu Dhabi.